Lineage
by Belle Soir
Summary: Natalie Valerious has been sheltered by her grandmother Anna for as long as she can remember. Refusing to acknowledge in her grandmothers belief of monsters and vampires, Natalie is in for the suprise of her life when she finds the plans for her future.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Ever since she was a little girl she had heard the tales of old. Unwritten rules that the people of Romania must abide by to survive. Although she had never believed such foolish superstition, she would not outright criticize her grandmother for drilling them into her head. She knew that her grandmother lived and breathed by the old ways, and she would not be the one to destroy her beliefs.

"Natalie, would you please come in here?" spoke a hush voice from the sitting room.

Natalie stood up and sighed. Grandmother had been acting quite strange for the past few weeks. She had been looking at Natalie as if she couldn't get enough, as if she was never going to see her again. Natalie brushed that idea to the back of her mind, preposterous. Maybe her old age was starting to catch up to her? No, that couldn't be it. She was a sharp as a fox, and for sixty five years of age, was quite agile as well.

"Yes? Hold on one moment! I just have to finish dressing" shouted Natalie from her upstairs bedroom.

She quickly threw open her dresser drawer and grabbed whatever was at the top of the pile. As she threw on her black pants she realized that she had grabbed her mother's black and red corset. She had been looking for that for ages! It was one of the few things her mother had left behind when she disappeared all those years ago.

After lacing up her black boots she observed herself in the mirror. She brushed her unruly brown curly hair away from her face and sighed. She looked the corset over and wished to god that her mother would return to her someday. She was only able to have five years with her before she vanished out of thin air.

Natalie was thrust into a memory of when she had turned 18 years old just a few weeks ago. She was finally allowed to go into the local tavern to have a drink with most of the townsfolk. Natalie was sheltered for most of her life by her grandmother, kept in their family's castle for schooling and such. But not that day. Freedom was secured firmly in her grasp. As Natalie opened the door to the tavern the entire room fell into an eerie hushed silence.

The bartender looked up from cleaning his glass and gasped.

"Natalie? Is…..no it can't be?"

Natalie gracefully waltzed through the bar earning quite a few lustful glances from the men populating the tavern. As Natalie sat down the bartender immediately walked over.

"It has been quite some time since we have seen your face Natalie. How long has it been? You must have been at least 8 when I saw you last. No I do not expect you to remember me, but we all remember you."

Natalie took a shot of brandy from the mans glass seated next to her and smirked.

"The word overprotected comes to mind when I think of my grandmother. The old Romanian superstitions of these so called vampires still have her at her wits end. She believes that they still walk the earth, but I cannot say the same."

The bartender narrowed his eyes, "Your grandmother is wise to believe so, just because you have never seen a vampire Natalie does not mean that they never existed. It would be best for you to watch your back. Your grandmother fought them you know, Dra…"

He was cut off by a loud bang coming from the door. There stood Grandmother in all her glory. A deep rage penetrated her eyes, something Natalie had never seen before. The bartender tried to make light of this current awkward situation.

"Ah! Ms. Anna Valerious! We have not been graced with your presence for quite some time. Please take a seat, order whatever you like it's on the house."

Grandmother slowly walked over to the bar and stared deep into the barman's eyes.

"How dare you tell tales that are not yours to share? For eighteen years I have kept Natalie safe. Safe from my daughter's fate. I will NOT let my granddaughter come to harm. Natalie stand up, we're leaving."

She slowly stood up taking in her grandmothers words. _Safe from my daughter's fate_. What is that supposed to mean? It was nothing new to hear something cryptic coming from her grandmother's mouth. Natalie had been trying to secure answers about her mother's whereabouts for many years, but her grandmother had always brushed it aside with the age old comment, _when you're older you shall understand._

She was quickly thrust back into reality when she heard her grandmother's voice.

"Natalie, would you please come down here before I develop any more grey hair?"

"Sorry! Coming!"

She quickly rushed downstairs. Running past the armory and the many pictures of past Valerious family members, she finally found her grandmother sitting in an old rocking chair looking as old and frail as she ever had. It scared Natalie a bit to see her grandmother, the great Anna Valerious in such a state.

"Natalie please sit down. I….I think it is time I owe you some answers. Last weeks little altercation at the tavern has made me realize what a fool I have been, keeping you in the dark for all these years."

Natalie titled her head to the side in curiosity. Was Grandmother….crying? No it cannot be. In her 18 years of life she had never once seen her cry. Not even when mom disappeared.

"I understand that you believe the old Romanian tales of monsters to be completely ridicules. Tales of monster hunters and vampires. Natalie, you must look at me directly as I tell you this."

Natalie slowly raised her eyes to match her grandmothers.

"They are completely and utterly real, they fill your past, and unfortunately I fear they fill your future. I have failed in protecting you Natalie, and for that I am sorry."

**Daaaaaaaa dum. This is just the beginning. Just a little pre-story before the ball really gets rolling.**

**SO- Anna Valerious, yes Anna is alive and kicking and grew to be an old lady, we'll get to the how's and why's later ;D.**

**REVIEWS FEED MY MUSE.**

**and my muse is a tubby little fellow.**

**The more reviews I get, the faster I can crank out some more schtuff.**

**Although flames will be laughed at and used to warm up my cold winter hands. ;)**

**-Belle Soir**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Natalie shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She would give anything to not be in this moment. The way Grandmother was staring at her struck fear into the very essence of her soul. Why did she have to find out this information now? Couldn't she just live blissfully unaware as to what was going on? As cowardly as that sounded she would rather stay in the dark. Anna seemed to have read her mind.

"Natalie my child, please understand that I would never bring you into this battle if it wasn't completely necessary. I have tried for 18 years to keep your innocence intact."

The wrinkles in Anna Valerious' face had become much more pronounced in the past 24 hours than they ever had.

"Before I explain everything dear one, please open up your mind to the possibility that there are darker creatures lurking about in the world. And not just in a far away place, I mean here as well."

Before she could stop herself Natalie rolled her eyes and sighed. What is going on? She had never witnessed anything sinister in her entire life! She had explored the woods around the castle thoroughly when she was just a little girl. She would wake up at the crack of dawn and have her usual 'adventures' in the wood.

Wait. The crack of dawn. Now that she was thinking about it, she had never been away from home at night before. She would always return to the castle well before nightfall. No, that must have been coincidence.

Anna had not missed Natalie's eyes roll, and she moved her chair closer to her granddaughter.

"Your mother had never just disappeared out of thin air Natalie. It was something that was planned years before you were born."

"Excuse me? Repeat that if you would? Because I'm sure that you didn't just say what I believe you did. My mother knew that she was going to be ripped away from me? And no one thought of the fact to at least fill me in on what the bloody hell was going on?!" Natalie shouted with her voice cracking at the very end.

"Please understand, you were such a small girl. You wouldn't have understood, you would have gone looking for her and it would have spelt your death. Bloodlust is something that cannot be controlled for a new.…."

Natalie's chin dropped with a slight pop as she registered the word bloodlust.

"And pray tell Grandmother, what would bloodlust have anything to do with my mother?" She spoke in an angry hushed whisper.

"Vampires Natalie, vampires."

She sat frozen to her chair. She couldn't move. She had a hard time remembering to breathe. Well, that only means one thing. Grandmother Valerious has lost it. Her sanity must have walked straight out the front door.

"I don't believe a word you're saying"

Anna stood up and towered over her grandchild. She knew that it was now or never.

"I am going to say this once Natalie and you can take it or leave it. For your own safety I pray to God that you understand what I'm about to tell you."

Anna's eyes began to wander off as if she was recalling a very distant memory. Memories that she had tucked away to the back of her head for many decades.

"Your Grandfather was a monster hunter Natalie. And a damn good one at that. I met him when I was just a little bit older than you are now. He was sent here to help our family and our people destroy an abomination that had murdered every member of our family. Except for myself and my brother."

Her eyes began to tear as she continued.

"Eventually this….thing killed my brother. I will spare you the details as to how, for you will probably not believe me. It was just I, and Gabriel left. If I could not kill the Count, then the entire Valerious family would not be able to enter the gates of heaven."

Natalie was about to ask about the identity of this 'Count' but thought better of it.

"In the end, we were able to destroy the Count. But your grandfather had to turn into something…well lets say 'untamed' to put it lightly, to kill him. I was able to cure him of his furry little problem after the final battle had been fought, but he was not himself, and I was killed in the crossfire."

If Natalie thought that her jaw had dropped before, she was pretty sure it was going to just unhinge itself and fall off now.

"He was devastated, but knew that the entire Valerious family was in a much better place thanks to him. As I was about to enter the gates of heaven I was stopped. My entire family had already passed on into the unknown and I was the last to cross. I can remember it as if was yesterday. My mother and father were standing behind the gates waiting for me, but something went wrong."

A tear began to form in her eye as pressed on with the story.

"I was told that I was not allowed to enter, for I had sinned in one of the greatest ways possible. When I was younger I had walked right into a trap of the Count, and I had fallen for his skills at seduction. One night had sealed my fate."

She walked over to the winder and spoke in a hushed whisper.

"I was presented with two choices. Two horrible choices, but they were mine to make. Knowing my intense love for your grandfather it was presented that he could take my place in the fires below, and that I would suffer in limbo for the rest of eternity. I immediately said no to the first, thinking that nothing could be worse than that option. So whatever the second was, I was forced to take it."

Anna slowly turned around and looked deep into the irises of Natalie's eyes.

"After it was decided, I was told that I was being sent back to earth to live out the rest of my days. My ashes would be gathered, and my body would be revived. But at a horrible cost. The Count would be resurrected as well, and he would have one demand that he could make, and I would have to adhere to it.

Returning to Gabriel was the happiest moment of my life. It seemed as though everything would be as it should. That everything was falling into place. I knew that the Count was back, but he had not made his presence known for many years….until one night."

Natalie was gripping her chair so tight she believed that her fingers were going to fall off. So far she understood that this Count was supposedly a vampire. And that her doubts as to the realness of him were starting to wane. She was beginning to believe.

"It was not until after your mother was born. She was only a baby at the time. I had not told Gabriel about the Counts return because I knew that he would go looking for him again. And losing your Grandfather was something I couldn't even begin to think about. One night Gabriel didn't return home, and it didn't even dawn on me that the Count would be to blame, until he showed his putrid face here outside that very window. He told me that he had exacted revenge upon Gabriel. And he also reminded me that he had yet to fulfill his one demand."

"Grandmo…" but before Natalie could continue Anna held her hand up as to stop her.

"He explained that he bided his time until I had a child, my little baby girl. His one demand was that she was to leave with him when she turned the age of 25, and if that I or she failed to comply, that the entire Valerious family would suffer the fires of Hell."

Anna took Natalie's face in her hands, "And my little one…I fear he has the same plan for you. I do not know what has happened to your mother. She knew of this plan, and she knew of her fate. On the morning of her 25th birthday she was not in her bed when I walked into her room, and I knew."

Natalie cleared her throat and coughed.

"So…this Count, he's coming for me then as well?" she whispered.

Anna solemnly nodded, "I do not know for certain, but now that you are of age you need to know. For you are not bound by any holy contract. You do not have to be a pawn in his plan. His name is Count Vladislaus Draculia. One of the eldest and most feared vampires in history. But we beat him once little one and I see so much of myself in you."

As Natalie stared deep into space trying to fit her head around this revelation, the candles in the sitting room went out and they were emerged in complete darkness. Anna slowly walked over to the window and saw a heavy fog seeping over the grounds.

"Natalie you must listen to me! Whatever you do, do not invite anyone in. Do you hear me? Keep away from the door. He has a knack for influencing the minds of people around him; keep your wits about you!"

Natalie slowly felt as though she hadn't slept for weeks. It was becoming hard to even lift her arm.

"Grandmot…I…I, don't feel right. Please….I need to sleep" Natalie slurred.

"NATALIE! NO! Stay with me! Please……"

But from there on out all she heard was a soft buzzing sound, and then complete darkness.

**There we go folks.**

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**Please – it's a sprinkle of happiness to my entire day. ;D**

**So there we have it.**

**She came back. He came back.**

**He got revenge and THEN some.**

**We still don't know what happened to Nat's mom, but I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. (:**


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